LaQuan Smith is an American fashion designer of African American descent who founded, and is the CEO of, the women's clothing brand LaQuan Smith, LLC. Smith is based in Queens, NY.

Early life

At the age of thirteen Smith's grandmother gave him her old Singer sewing machine on which he could practice. He began with simple patterns but developed his own techniques in creating garments.

Career

In 2005, after contracting cancer, he applied to the Fashion Institute of Technology

Fashion Institute of Technology

The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...

 and Parsons School of Design, but was not accepted. He began working as an intern at the New York magazine BlackBook in 2007, from where attended events by pretending to be a BlackBook editor. In 2008, he created his self-titled designer brand.

In February 2010 he made his New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week

The semi-annual New York Fashion Week, branded Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek in 2009, is held in February and September of each year in New York City. It is one of four major fashion weeks held around the world .-History:The first New York Fashion Week, then called Press Week, was the world's first...

 debut at the Society of Illustrators

Society of Illustrators

The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...

 headquarters in Upper East Side

Upper East Side

The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...

. The audience for Smith's 'Water Goddess' show were the fashion press, buyers and celebrities, and included Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley

André Leon Talley

André Leon Talley is the former American editor-at-large for Vogue magazine, listed as Contributing Editor in the April 2010 masthead. Talley has been a front-row regular at fashion shows in New York, Paris, London and Milan for more than 25 years...

, Vogue style director Alexandra Kotur, Janice Combs, Misa Hylton, Justin Tranter

Justin Tranter

Justin Tranter is an American musician and jewelry designer. He is most famous as the lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons, a New York "garage glam" rock band...

, and lawyer L. Londell McMillan

L. Londell McMillan

L. Londell McMillan is an entertainment attorney based in New York City. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1983 and Cornell University in 1987....

. A Spring-Summer Collection was presented in September 2010.

Smith's collection for the 2011 New York Fashion Week was shown in the Gramercy Ballroom at the Peninsula Hotel, presented as 'A Story Book Path', and inspired by Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....

, Cruella De Vil

Cruella de Vil

Cruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...

 and Queen Elizabeth I. Among the guests were Andre Leon Talley

André Leon Talley

André Leon Talley is the former American editor-at-large for Vogue magazine, listed as Contributing Editor in the April 2010 masthead. Talley has been a front-row regular at fashion shows in New York, Paris, London and Milan for more than 25 years...

, Diane von Furstenberg

Diane von Fürstenberg

Diane von Fürstenberg, formerly Princess Diane of Fürstenberg , is a Belgian-American fashion designer best known for her iconic wrap dress. She initially rose to prominence when she married into the German princely House of Fürstenberg, as the wife of Prince Egon of Fürstenberg...

, George Malkemus, Sandra Bernhard

Sandra Bernhard

Sandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of...

, Lorenzo Martone, Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson is a Swedish chef and co-owner of Aquavit restaurant in New York City and C-House Restaurant, located in the Affinia Hotel in Chicago.-Early life and career:...

, and L. Londell McMillan. Models included Cassie Ventura, Deborah Cox

Deborah Cox

Deborah Cox is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart , a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on...

, Jaslene Gonzalez

Jaslene Gonzalez

Jaslene Gonzalez is a Puerto Rican American model, television host, and winner of Cycle 8 of America's Next Top Model.-Biography:...

, and Serena Williams

Serena Williams

Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...

.

External links

• LaQuan Smith Website
• "A Young Outsider, on the Doorstep", The New York Times, 12 February 2010
• "Fashion designer LaQuan Smith, from Queens, is 21-year-old Fashion Week virgin", NY Daily News, 13 February 2010
• "On the scene: Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley embraces LaQuan Smith's Fashion Week diversity", NY Daily News, 15 February 2010
• "LaQuan Smith’s Over-the-Top Romp Through Versaille, Starring Serena Williams", fashionista.com, 16 September 2010
• "LaQuan Smith", dailycandy.com, 27 August 2010
• "2010 Fall Fashion Week: LaQuan Smith's 2011 Spring Couture Collection", bvonstyle.com, 16 September 2010
• "Serena Williams Walks the Runway", Vogue, 14 September 2010
• "Love for LaQuan!", dailyfrontrow.com, 16 September 2010